Bush signs legislation protecting DVD filtering technology

[JURIST] President Bush Wednesday signed legislation giving legal protection to developers of technologies designed to enable viewers to "self-censor" portions of DVD movies that they deem inappropriate for viewing by others or themselves. S. 167, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act creates an exemption from current copyright law that would have allowed film producers to sue the filter-makers for creating altered copies of their works, even if the content removed could be deemed offensive. A major beneficiary of the legislation is Utah-based ClearPlay Inc. [corporate website], whose filtering technology is already bundled with some DVD players. ClearPlay applauded the legislation [press release] after its passage by Congress earlier this month. The bill signed by the President also criminalizes the use of recording equipment to make copies of movies in movie theaters and contains miscellaneous provisions related to film preservation. AP has more.

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